Tasha Lard empowers Black entrepreneurs through community and mentorship

Tasha Lard dipped her toes into entrepreneurship during the pandemic, a time when most businesses found themselves floundering to stay afloat. “Scary and unsure” is how she described her feelings after opening JD Beauty Supply, located in the Pepperwood Plaza at 1067 US-6 in Iowa City. Far from succumbing to the economic climate, however, the store flourished, and Ms. Lard started two new businesses in the subsequent years.

Today Ms. Lard is a board member for the South of 6 Iowa City Business District, the founder and CEO of M.O.G.U.L. Consulting, and co-founder of Black Professionals of Iowa, a growing network connecting Black and brown professionals across Eastern Iowa whose principles lie in “togetherness and unity,” Ms. Lard said. Having an organization that fosters cross-industry dialogue and promotes business among Black professionals serves as a vital resource to traditionally underserved populations who haven’t had access to such sources in the past, she said. “If someone reaches out and says, ‘Hey, Tasha, you got an electrician?’ I know someone in the network in Black Professionals that is an electrician…we're small in numbers here, but we all have amazing businesses that we do,” she said. “And just being able to get (the word) out so people know that they're here, they're available.” Ms. Lard organized Black Professionals of Iowa in 2023 with Raphael Robertson, CEO of Robertson Branding Company. Originally called Black Professionals of Johnson County & Linn County, the name changed when the organization began attracting professionals from cities outside the targeted districts. “It was great,” Ms. Lard said, of the organization’s beginnings. “People were happy that it was happening, because there [weren’t] a lot of things for us to get together and do. People are excited.” Networking events such as bowling, a murder mystery dinner and a masquerade ball have helped foster community, but Ms. Lard wanted to dream bigger. On Sept. 19 and 20, Black Professionals of Iowa will be hosting the Empowerment Symposium: Inspiring Black and Brown Professionals to Lead, at the Graduate Iowa City, 210 S. Dubuque St. The two-day event will feature more than 30 speakers and industry leaders from the Eastern Iowa region and give Black and brown professionals the chance to network, learn, and take advantage of business opportunities. “As entrepreneurs and Black professionals, a lot of them face [the] challenge of not being able to have access to the resources needed to start a business. They don't have access to capital,” said Ms. Lard, of obstacles facing Black professionals. “It's hard for Black professionals – or [Black people], period – to go into banks and get loans to start businesses. So that is a challenge that some of us face.” Having to work harder than their white counterparts and dealing with workplace racism makes Black professionals susceptible to burn out, she said, and the Empowerment Symposium aims to address those challenges in addition to industry topics. “There's those things we don't talk about and we don't discuss because oftentimes, we feel like we're not going to be heard, or we're going to be blamed for what is happening,” she said. “Oftentimes we just don't say much at all. We just continue to let it happen.”

A mentor makes all the difference

Ms. Lard had a “taste” of entrepreneurship at an early age when she helped her "Aunt Lil" with her candy store in West Chicago. Considering her a mentor, “Aunt Lil was that person that took a chance on me when nobody else did, and Lil was the person who was there when everybody else had left as a kid, as a teenager and some instances even as an adult,” Ms. Lard said. Though Lillie Davis wasn’t her biological aunt, she took the place of one to Ms. Lard and her siblings, as well as other neighborhood children. “She was what we call the mother of the community,” she said. “It takes a village. She was part of that village for our community. She adopted a lot of us. I called us the wayward youth, but we also call ourselves Lil's Kids.” Working for Aunt Lil taught her consistency, honesty, and integrity, said Ms. Lard,who watched her put those principles into action. “She was very professional, because there wasn't a day that she closed. She was open every day of the week,” she said. And she had one rule for Ms. Lard: “I had to go to school.” This could have proved challenging for Ms. Lard, who had her first child at the age of 16, but Aunt Lil helped watch the baby so she could attend school and work. Eventually, Ms. Lard went on to receive her associate’s degree in human services with a focus on correctional counseling at College of DuPage, working with the Chicago Public Schools upon graduation. “Everybody needs an Aunt Lil,” said Ms. Lard. “She was my person.” Now, with her consulting business, Ms. Lard has the opportunity to mentor others as well. With M.O.G.U.L. Consulting, Ms. Lard helps connect fledgling entrepreneurs with the resources needed to start and maintain a business. “There were some entrepreneurs that were coming (up), and they weren't sure what steps they needed to take in order to start a business,” she said. Her biggest advice to new business owners is to never quit. “Everyone's afraid,” she said. “But if you don't take the chance on yourself, you can't expect someone else to take a chance on you either. So take a chance on yourself.” To register and learn more about the Empowerment Symposium, visit https://empowersym.com/.